Property valuations bring ‘sticker shock’ for some. Here are Fayette’s biggest jumps
Valuation notices are going out to property owners across Fayette County, and some might be surprised by a big jump in their assessment — a factor that ultimately influences how much they’ll pay on their property tax bill.
According to David O’Neill, Fayette County’s property valuation administrator, in at least in some cases people are seeing 30% increases in the valuation of their property.
“A lot of people are getting sticker shock,” O’Neill said of the notices his office is mailing out this time of year in an attempt to explain the changes.
According to O’Neill, much of it comes down to the hot market for local real estate.
“We’re still selling a lot of houses,” O’Neill told the Herald-Leader in an interview Tuesday. The demand for housing is adding to the progressive increases in property valuations over time.
Read on for more information about how the Fayette County PVA office conducts assessments and an upcoming deadline you need to be aware of.
How often does PVA conduct assessments and how are they informing property owners?
The taxable value of the most recently certified real property tax roll in 2021 totals $30.5 billion, O’Neill said.
His office conducts home assessments on a rotating basis — about one fourth of all homes in the county each year.
Of the homes reassessed for 2022 (properties which had not been reassessed in four years), the median increase in value was $43,400.
“This year was different than other quadrennial reassessments because it was the year for condos and townhouses. All condos and townhouses were reassessed for 2022,” O’Neill wrote in a follow-up email.
Of the traditional neighborhoods of single-family, detached houses, here are a few large neighborhoods that have seen the biggest rise in sales prices and property values, according to O’Neill:
- Blackford Properties
- Blueberry Hills
- Copperfield
- Dogwood Trace
- Garden Springs
- Idle Hour
- North Broadway
- North Pointe
- Southeastern Hills
- Stonewall
- Thoroughbred
- Wickliffe
O’Neill shared several documents with the Herald-Leader, including a sample property assessment notice. The notice, which comes in a red-lined envelope and bears the PVA’s official letterhead, presents property owners with their assessment (labeled as fair cash value) and the change in taxable value.
It’s not a tax bill, those typically go out the last week of September. This notice simply indicates what the Fayette County PVA determined your property to be worth as of Jan. 1, 2022.
For the purposes of the assessment, “fair cash value” refers to the most probable sale price in a competitive, open market with a knowledgeable and willing buyer and seller. The “taxable value,” as defined on the sample notice taxpayers should receive by mail, is the value on which property taxes will be based.
Property value assessments take several factors into consideration. This includes comparable home sales near you, and O’Neill said each notice typically lists five examples of those.
On the back of the form, you’ll find a map which documents various home sales in your area, including what the property was previously assessed at and what it sold for.
There’s still time to appeal your assessment. The deadline for appeals is May 16.
How do I determine how much money I’ll owe on my property tax bill?
The easiest way is to use the calculator the PVA office provides online.
To get an estimate from that, you’ll need your assessed property value and your taxing district. The tax district for each property is listed with all other characteristics on each property’s record card at FayettePVA.com, according to O’Neill.
The latest property tax rates are available at the Fayette County PVA office’s website.
Otherwise, to calculate your tax bill, you divide the value of your home by 100 and then multiply that amount by the given tax rate for your taxing district. The example on the Fayette County PVA website goes like this: “If your home was valued at $75,000 and the tax rate was $0.80 per $100 of value, then the tax is $600.”
Do you have a question about real estate in Lexington or greater Kentucky? We’d like to hear from you. Fill out the form below or email ask@herald-leader.com.
This story was originally published April 28, 2022 at 6:00 AM.